IMPACT THEME: Housing & Homelessness; Health, Wellbeing & Social Care

WHAT THEY DO: Real Lettings is a social enterprise run by homelessness charity St Mungo’s in partnership with us. Three property investment funds have so far been set up with the same social purpose: to help people at risk of homelessness to become more independent, linking stable housing to positive development in other parts of their lives.

The three Funds are:

Real Lettings Property Fund (RLPF1) – Launched in 2013, London-focused, and the pioneer fund for this initiative. It is now fully invested and in its seventh year of operations in 2019/20.

National Homelessness Property Fund (NHPF) – Launched in late 2015 to take the initiative to other cities around the UK, it operates in Bristol, Milton Keynes and Oxford. It is now fully invested and in its fifth full year of operations.

Real Lettings Property Fund2 (RLPF2) – Launched in early 2017, in order to continue the initiative in London. It is now fully invested and in its third full year of operations.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2005

INVESTMENT AMOUNT: £196.4m

INVESTMENT SOURCE: Real Lettings Property Fund 1 & 2; National Homelessness Property Fund

INVESTMENT PURPOSE: Acquisition of 1 and 2 bed properties, to house homeless individuals and families

QUOTE: Susan Fallis, Director of Real Lettings, said: “Reaching this level of investment shows that the Real Lettings Property Fund model of social investment works. Since the Fund started we have been able to help more people escape homelessness by providing a secure tenancy and support from our social lettings agency. As a result, a significant number of families have been prevented from spending long periods of time in unsuitable temporary or bed and breakfast accommodation or having to move outside London away from their support networks.”

DEAL STRUCTURE: 7 year secured loan from the Resonance Property Funds (6% total cost p.a.)

Between them, these three pioneering impact investment funds attracted nearly £196.4m investment and are proving that this model can deliver both financial returns and focused social impact in homelessness, across the UK.

The Fund sources one and two bedroom properties, refurbishes them and leases them to homelessness charity St Mungo’s Broadway via its Real Lettings team. Real Lettings then lets them at affordable rates to families and individuals who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, and who would otherwise struggle to access the private rented sector.

The latest social impact report for the year of operation from April 2019 to the end of March 2020 reports that capital raised across all three funds since their launch was £196.4m at the end of March 2020. This translates to 813 properties purchased so far, with 714 occupied, housing 1,756 people: 893 adults and 863 children, at the end of the financial year.

The impact of the funds can be seen primarily in four areas:

• Improving housing options - 99% of tenants have sustained their tenancies
• Progressing towards work - Employment has increased in the last four years to just over 46%
• Improving resilience against homelessness - 76% of all tenants say their suppport network and relationships have been positivley affected by living in a Real Lettings' home
• Stable housing for children - Real Lettings provides a home for almost as many children as adults, with a 12% increase in the number of children housed by the funds

RLPF2 has seen the most substantial increase in tenancy numbers as the investment raised and properties purchased in previous years, have enabled more people to move in this year. Overall, for the twelve month period, the Funds increased tenants housed by 16%.

The success of these funds has led us to develop two further funds, with new charity partners:

• National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2) - This Fund initially focuses on establishing the model in the North West

• Resonance Everyone In fund (REIF) - This is a new London-focused fund, with a new charity partner, that specifically responds to coronavirus and the opportunity to rehouse people who were homeless.